Happy Birthday To Me
by Froginator1469
Summary: Without the rebellion, the Hunger Games are still here.  When Estella Waters turns 16 years old, she get her own special present; she gets to be a part of the 95th Hunger Games.
1. 15 Fruits and a Little Girl

**In this Fanfic, the rebellion had never happened. The Hunger Games are still operating, but under new rules that two tributes (regardless of their Districts) are allowed to win. Katniss's and Peeta's victory is in the history books in Panem as the first Game to have two tributes win. The Games have been following this rule ever since. This is Estella Waters' adventure in the 95****th**** Hunger Games.**

I was going for a personal record today; carrying a total of 15 fruits without dropping them. Most people here in District 11 can do this with ease. I, however, am one of the few that can't. Being only 5 feet, 2 inches, and a measley 85 pounds, you can probably see how this simple task could be an obstacle for me.

I was almost at the cart where people in the fields drop their crops off at, when a root had caught my foot. Down I fell, scattering the fruits all over the ground. Embarrassed, I quickly gathered myself and the crops that had fallen. Then, I checked over my shoulder at the Peacekeepers that watch over us as we pick crops. The Peacekeepers here don't like it when production slows, or when people slack off. I know that if they had seen me fall with 15 precious crops, I'd be getting a whipping for certain.

*Phew* I sighed in relief. They had been too busy watching out for the tracker jacker nest that was just a few feet away from them. I was about to stand up when a hand popped into my view. I grabbed it in order to pull myself up. Soon enough I was on my own two feet and out of range of the Peacekeepers' violent and brutal ways.

I was just about to thank the person who had helped me up, when I saw that he had busied himself by picking up the fruit that had been dropped. When he had finished, we both walked over the cart to drop them off.

He then turned to me and asked, "So what gave you the idea that such a tiny person like you could hold that much fruit?" He didn't mean it in a harsh way, but more as a joking question. He looked to be about 20 years old, so he must know these fields inside and out.

I get called "small" and "tiny" a lot. I used to get a little upset when people called me that. But now I'm kind of used to it. So I just give a shy smile to the man.

"So how are the fields working for you?" He asks. I get this question a lot too. A lot of people here believe I am only 10 to 12 years old. He obviously thinks that this must be one of my first times here in the fields.

But little does he know that I am indeed 15 years old, and I have been in these fields since I was 10. I don't mention this though. I wait for him to ask me the one question that almost everybody I meet asks me when they first meet me.

"So how old are you, little girl?" He gives a sincere smile and patiently awaits my answer.

_Here it comes, _I think. Right after I tell my age, almost everybody is shocked that I could possibly be that old. Others don't really care. "I'm Fifteen, sir" I say to him.

And then comes the face that I have grown accustomed to when meeting people. First his face goes from sincere and happy to a slight confused, crooked smiled one. Then, his face adds in some apologetic features that makes him seem as though he's going to say sorry that he thought I was only little girl. But he never apologizes, nobody ever does. I suppose that it's because they don't want to admit that they thought I was only 12, but I don't mind, I don't like admitting when I'm wrong either.

The man then gets back to his normal looking face and tries to work up a conversation. But I know, like most first conversations, that this one will be awkward. But I try my best to not acknowledge his awkwardness and attempt to create a conversation with this man.

The talk went pretty well, and I also managed to get a lot more crops to the cart than I usually do, because he helped me. I learned that his name was Fable Rinco, and that he absolutely loves to sing (like most people in District 11). He sung to me and it was one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. But then again, everyone in District 11 has a beautiful voice. Well everyone except me. But I guess you have to be born with it.

At the end of my shift, I head home. But, as usual, I take the long way home. I don't like my family, and they don't like me. It might just because that I'm one of the only pale skinned girls here in District 11. Everybody here knows I was adopted, it's no secret. My family never wanted to adopt me, but after being shipped from house to house when I was a child in District 12, the Capitol decided to put me here in District 11. They chose a family at random, which to my luck, is the one I am in now. My family never wanted me, but they were threatened by death if they didn't take me. Apparently, my "family choosing" was irritating to the Capitol and was getting in the way of their work.

So here I am. Living in this house, home to the only people I despise here in District 11, well except the Peacekeepers. I think I hate them more than my family. At least my family doesn't kill children for stealing a single pear. I hate the Capitol and their stupid Peacekeepers. I wish someone would just blow the Capitol up, but we all know that can't and won't happen.


	2. A Present From A Best Friend

Tonight for dinner, my mother has prepared bread and vegetables. This is our typical dinner. Every so often, my father gets his hands on some meat, and my mother then cooks it up for my family.

Notice how I say "my family". I am never offered meat, nor am I ever allowed to have some. My brothers and sisters always get to eat the meat, while I eat my vegetables.

However, what my family doesn't know is that even if they did offer me some meat, I wouldn't eat it. I've seen what happens to animals when they get slaughtered, I once accidentally ran through one of the few slaughter houses we have here in District 11. I saw what they did to those poor defenseless animals. They shouldn't die just so we can eat them because it isn't fair to them.

I have always loved animals, especially birds, and I could never see myself eating one. I don't ever want to hurt an animal, and I don't ever plan on eating any either.

After every meal, I am supposed to clean the dishes and wash the dining table. This is what my parents say I should do all the time because they were so "caring" to take me as their own child. That's a lie. They don't know that I know the real reason of why I am here. But I never argue with my parents anymore. I have bruises and scars to remind me what happens when I do.

After washing the dishes I go bathe myself and head to my small room. It's not so much as a room, but a closet my parents weren't using when I was a child. But at least I have somewhere to sleep.

Nights like this always keep me up at night. This particular night of the year is always my most restless. That is because not only is it my birthday tomorrow and I will turn 16, but tomorrow is also reaping day. The one day a year where one boy and one girl almost always get a death sentence.

I know nothing special will happen for my birthday. Nothing ever does. The only thing my parents have ever gotten for me was a black headband for my 8th birthday. Surprisingly, I always wear this headband. It's kind of become a part of me. It's weird that I'd ever want to wear something my family got me, but the headband has kind of grown on me. People always notice when I don't wear it, which isn't that often.

Usually, my parents tell me that the only other thing I will ever get for my birthday is a trip to the Games. They tell me this when I do something wrong, like forget to wash Lillian's dress, or when I grab an extra apple from our inventory to eat later. I'm used to this threat, as I am used to almost all threats my parents give me. But I always wonder if that really _will_ be my next birthday present.

I left the house early knowing that my family will be sound asleep at this time. I use this free time to run. I love running. When I run, I feel free.

I started running at a young age. My parents had just yelled at me for the first time. I had, like any normal 6 year old, started crying. My mother then yelled at me to run away if I hated it so much there. So I did. I ran away as far as I could and didn't come back home until a day later. Of course, my mother gave me a smacking while my father just watched and told me if I never wanted this, that I should of never ran away.

"_It's your fault, Estella. There must be consequences" he said._

_I sat there crying my eyes out, for the second time. I know this would happen, but I could never live by myself. I had already been starving by the time I left yesterday; I knew I had to live with these dreadful people._

_When I finally got to bed that day, I had devised a plan. On my 18__th__ birthday, after the reaping, I was going to move out of my house. I can provide for myself, and I'll find a way to buy myself a house, I know I can do it._

On my run today, I decided to go to my best friend's house, Jakji Falbe. Jakji has been my best friend since before I can remember. We met when I was 7 and he was 8. At this point in my life, I actually looked like I was 7, so there was never an awkward conversation with him.

I have always thought of Jakji as a brother that I never had. He lets me stay with him when I run away from my home and away from my parents. He's never been mean to me, and I've always wanted to be his family's adopted child, but unfortunately, that obviously never happened. Jakji is also the only person to know about my parent's cruel ways and how I refuse to hurt or eat animals. He is the only person I trust with these secrets.

"Hey Esta! Nice day for a reaping huh?" he yells out his window. He is the only person that I would ever allow call me "Esta". It's a stupid nickname, but he seems to like it, so I just go along with it.

"Oh what a beautiful reaping day!" I reply sarcastically. We both hate reaping day. Jakji is also the only person to know about my hatred for the Capitol and these absolutely horrid Games. When we were both young, we would come up with complicated ways in how the Capitol would explode. One of these ideas was that a giant flying person would accidentally fall on the Capitol.

Jakji came out of his house to come greet me with his signature hug. I don't remember a time when he didn't greet me like this. I'm not much of a hugger, but I've gotten used to his hugs. I always shy away from all other hugs, though.

As we separated, he grabbed a little box behind his back and told me to open it. Jakji, unlike my family, always gets me a present. His presents are always so much more expensive than they need to be. I know that just by looking at his presents in previous years that it must have taken him months of his paycheck from the fields in order to pay for them. Don't get me wrong, I love every single one of his presents, but he really doesn't need to spend so much money on them. Jakji is as rich as I am, meaning we are both just barely scraping by.

I open his present, wondering what could be in a small box. Inside is a little note, it reads:

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESTA! I bet you thought this was your real present! HAH! I fooled you. Your real present will come later. Meet me at the tree as soon as you can get away from your parents after the reaping._

_~Jakji_

There's a reason why Jakji didn't just come out and say what he wrote in the note. First off, he likes to trick people. Secondly, nobody knows about our tree, and we want it to stay that way.

The tree is the place where I had first met Jakji, every time Jakji mentions the tree, a rush of memories always comes back to me:

_My mom was screaming at me, "NEVER COME BACK!" she had said. I never want to come back. But I know I'll have to. I'll die out here. But running is my only escape, so that is why I booked it out of that house once mom saw that I had eaten the last orange. _

_I ran for hours, going endlessly in a straight line, I swear, running was built for me. I smiled as I thought about that._

_Eventually, I got tired. And I rested near a tree. I hadn't noticed that I dozed off until a boy my age came and poked me with a stick._

"_WOAH! It's alive!" he had said._

_For a whole minute, I sat there, scared out of my mind. Who was this boy? Was he going to tell the Peacekeepers on me? Why did he just poke me with a stick?_

"_Hi, my name is Jakji! This is usually my favorite tree, but we can share." He smiled as he said this. It was a crooked smile, but it was sincere. I was calmed. For the moment, he wasn't going to tell the Peacekeepers. I sighed in relief._

"_My name is Estella." I tried to smile, but it ends up looking unexciting. I've never really smiled in my life, except when I'm running._

"_Your smile looks funny, smile like this!" He showed me a funny face where his tongue was sticking out. I laughed; it was funny to watch this boy. I never really had a friend at this time, so I wondered if he would be my friend._

That was the start of our long friendship.

Jakji isn't my only friend, I have made many others as I grew up, but none of them knows me like Jakji does.

"Well, I wish I could stay and talk Esta, but I really, really need to get ready for the reaping. Don't you dare forget about my present!" he smiled and then gave a playful wink. How could I ever forget about his present, he's my best friend.

"Yeah, I have to go get ready too. Don't want to get a whipping." I waved goodbye and ran back towards the woods. I know I won't be able to make it back to my house, and THEN go to the reaping. So I already packed what I was going to wear and planned on just dressing in the woods.

I found a little watering hole deep into the woods, took a short bath to clean the sweat off, and dressed into the green and black dress that I have had since I was 12. I still fit in it because I haven't grown since, also my parents never bother to buy me anything. This is one of those hand-me-down dresses that was given to my parents by some friend of theirs.

Lastly, I put my black headband on, and headed toward the town square.


	3. The Reaping

**I would like to point out that my story isn't really about anybody in the Hunger Games Series. It has the same setting and stuff, but it's just a story that came to my mind when I had finished reading the Hunger Games Series.**

After I got all dressed up, I headed toward the Town Square. The Town Square is where most of the stores in District 11 are found. We mostly just have basic stores. There are stores where you can buy food, stores where you can buy clothes, and stores where you can get common household items. There really aren't any other types of stores here. The few stores that sell luxurious items such as meat and electronic devices are so expensive that only the richest of the rich shop there.

Next to the Town Square is the Victor Village. We have roughly 15 houses in the Victor Village, but only 8 are occupied. District 11 isn't really the best District in the Hunger Games. But we're not the worst. District 12 is the only other District that is worst than us. I hear they only have 4 houses occupied there. One by some old drunk man named Haymitch, one is shared between the historical star-crossed lovers of Hunger Games 74, another is used by the first ever 13 year old to win the Hunger Games, Polash, and the last is occupied by last year's victor, Shanela.

Ever since the 74th Hunger Games, where Katniss and Peeta of District 12 both won, the Capital has made a new rule that two people may become Victors. However, if one of the Victors would like to be the _only_ Victor, then he or she may kill the last remaining person.

It's been rare that one of the Victors has killed the other, but it's happened before. It usually happens when a Career Tribute ends up being with a person from a District that is not considered a Career District. This is what happened 2 years ago when Juling Slang, a twelve year old female from my District, had been outnumbered by the last two people in the Games. These two people were both from District 2, and they obviously wanted to win together.

When the Gamemakers sent a flood into the arena, the girl from District 2 drowned, leaving the boy from District 2 and Juling Slang to be Victors. After the end of every game, the Gamemakers allow five minutes to let the remaining Tributes to agree on either both becoming Victors, or to fight to be the one and only Victor.

Juling Slang had said that she wanted them both to be Victors. But Daniel, the boy from District 2, had disagreed. Because he disagreed, the Gamemakers allowed the Games to continue the way they had been going.

After 3 days, Daniel finally killed Juling Slang in a slow torturous death. He first made a trap and Juling had gotten caught in it. Daniel then cut off every limb of Juling's body, starting with fingers and toes, then moving up to hands and feet. Eventually he got bored of cutting and decided to just stab her with a spear to the eye. Juling, unfortunately, had not been killed by the spear; she had to wait until she died of blood loss, which took almost a whole hour.

That Hunger Games was the Hardest for me to watch. Not only was Juling my friend at the time, but I also had to watch her suffer because of this awful boy from District 2. It was unbearable to watch, but it was mandatory. When a Tribute from your District makes it to the final 8, schools are required to watch the Games twice a day.

I was sitting in History of Panem class when I saw my friend die. I couldn't stop crying when I got home that day, which in the end got me a "grow up" speech and a whacking from my mother. But all I could ever think about for the rest of that year was how unfair the Games are. Juling had won fair and square, and some asshole had to kill her just to get all the glory of being Victor for himself.

* * *

I went to go find the 16 year old section on the Girls side of the Town Square. I stood in the back of the crowd. Of course I couldn't actually see anything, but I didn't mind, I don't really like being in the front of crowds.

I did however see Jakji on the other side of the Town Square. I could see that he found me too, because he started waving and he tried to grin, but his grin looked very forced. Reapings make Jakji nervous. Every year, he always says that something wrong will happen, that someone that we know will have to go into the arena. But what are the odds that one of the people we know will be reaped _again._ I mean, the odds are slim to none as is. Disregarding the fact that Juling was reaped 2 years ago, I have never known anybody who has been reaped. There are just so many people here in District 11.

Jakji mouths something to me. I wish he'd stop mouthing things to me. He knows I can't read lips.

While I keep trying to understand what Jakji is saying, the mayor of our District starts talking. He says the same thing every year; the Capital is awesome, Districts are not, and the Hunger Games are here because of our attempt to overthrow the Capital. _Yada, yada, yada._ I don't listen to him speak. I just keep focusing on what Jakji is trying to say.

Whatever he's trying to say to me has to probably be good, because he's smiling and it's not one of his "forced Reaping Day" smiles. I try my best on decoding his lips, when Flud Sharting starts talking.

"Now I know you guys can't wait to get started!" he says. Flud is a guy who, I think, sincerely enjoys watching kids kill other kids, like it's some sort of athletic sport. He really loves reapings and thinks that all the Tribute are, and I quote, "Very lucky fellows!". Oh yeah Flud, we're _real _lucky.

Flud always starts off with the boys. Before he calls a name, he always has to do this "Oh this lucky fellow is gonna make District 11 PROUD!" speech.

"And the Lucky Fellow is…" he starts, "Boyt Blidgens!". _Phew,_ I sighed in relief. It wasn't Jakji. I see Jakji become less tense as he realizes that not only is it not him, but he also doesn't know this Boyt guy, so his premonition didn't come true.

While Flud starts his "Lucky fellow" speech for the girls, I kind of zone out. I start thinking about what Jakji could possibly have for my birthday. Will it be another box of desserts, or some new running sneakers? Heck, considering what Jakji got me in the past, he could of gotten me a flying pony. I decide to look back at Jakji to see if he's gonna try to mouth something to me again.

When I turn to see Jakji, he's already staring at me. Actually, a lot of people are staring at me now. Then I realize what's happening. I tune my ears back into what Flud is saying.

"Estella Waters?" he says again. At first, I just stand there, petrified. For a second, I forget how to walk, but then I slowly make my way up to the stage that the Town Square has set up for the Reaping. I pass Jakji on the way. He looks the same way that I do, but then he does something out of character. He starts crying. I have never seen Jakji cry, I thought he never cried, but here he was, silently crying while I walked up next to Flud Sharting.

I tried to keep every emotion off my face; the fear, the anger, the sadness, the hopelessness. I don't want anybody to know what I'm feeling.

I stood right next to the man named Boyt. The expression on his face almost exactly resembles mine, except I can still see the water in his eyes. He wants to cry, but he's trying his hardest to keep the tears back; I know this feeling, fighting away tears is a battle in itself. Anyway, Boyt is extremely tall and he makes me look more of a midget than I already am. He looks around 14 or 15, and he has small, but noticeable muscles. The muscles must be from working in the field.

Flud Sharting starts asking the same questions he asks everybody who gets reaped.

"So, little girl, how lucky do you feel?" His smile creeps me out, and he can't possibly be serious. Getting reaped is the farthest away from lucky you can get.

"Oh _so very lucky"_ I say, not hiding the sarcasm in my voice.

"Well, little girl, how old are you? This must be one of your first reapings, and you're already getting reaped!" he says.

_Here it goes again._ Usually I wouldn't mind when people think I'm 12. But right now I'm so angry that I could just _punch _somebody! _Oh my god, _I think, _the games haven't even officially started, and I'm already thinking violent thoughts about people_. I calmed myself down and answered his question.

"I'm sixteen, sir. This is my fourth reaping." I told him. He didn't even flinch. It was weird, he was the first person I have ever had this conversation with who even didn't change his expression. _Well he is Flud Sharting, the man who thinks dying is lucky, _I thought.

"Well, Lucky lady, do you have any words to say to your District?" he asks.

"No," I start, "Well, actually, I guess I do have something to say." I wait for Flud Sharting to ask me what.

"And what's that Estella?" he asks.

"Happy Birthday to me."


	4. Goodbyes and Good Lucks

**RECAP: Estella has just been reaped. Flud Sharting was calling Estella "lucky". Jakji was recently crying. Estella has just announced that today is her birthday.**

Flud's eyes widen. It almost looked like his eyes were going to pop out.

"Well isn't that neat!" Flud exclaimed. "So not only did you just turn 16, but you also get the chance to represent District 11 in the Hunger Games! What an awesome birthday present!"

_Ah yes Flud, dying is a WONDERFUL birthday present. _I'd like to say this to him, but I know this reaping is being videotaped and I don't want anybody knowing that I know I'm going to die… If that makes sense.

I just stood there and waited for Flud to finish his babbling on how it is a great honor to be in these games. _If it's such a great honor, then why don't _you_ go into the arena? I bet you wouldn't live past the bloodbath. _Once again, I wish I could say this to him, but I bet saying that would be frowned upon.

Once the reaping is over, Peacekeepers moved me and Boyt to the Justice Building. We were put into separate rooms. We're both allowed 2 hours for visitors to come and say their "Goodbyes" and "Good lucks". Something tells me that I probably will just be getting a bunch of "Goodbyes".

The first person to come in is Glen Hurlin. I'm confused on why Glen was first to show up. It's not like me and him are best buds. Actually, I have never really had a full conversation with Glen. He was always in my classes in school, and he was never too far from me in the fields. We said "Hi" to each other plenty of times, but all I really know about him is his last name.

I felt a wave of guilt come on me. I really should have tried to be friends with Glen. He seems like a really cool guy. He even decided to take time to come see me before I left for the Capitol. I don't think I would have done the same if the situation was switched.

"Hey" Glen says. I can tell he's kind of upset. But I still don't get why.

"Hiya" I say back. "So you here to say goodbye?"

"Well yeah, what else would I be doing? Looking for my Math book?" I smiled a little bit at his joke. Glen seems to always lose his Math book, and the book always seems to get found in the most peculiar places. But now I really feel guilty. Not only is Glen nice, but he's also funny. I wish we could have been better friends. _Too late now._

"Did you lose it again?" I asked, trying to be funny. I'm not really considered a funny type of person. But humor _almost_ made me forget about my predicament.

"Not that I know of… But you know me; the damned book might be in the apple fields as we speak." He grins as he says it. "But I also want to say 'Kick some ass'".

I laughed, just the way he said that was hilarious. But I also laugh because I know I can't kick _any_ ass. Glen doesn't know about my inability to kill things, the only person who knows is Jakji. I hope that that will stay that way.

Glen started speaking again, "I know we aren't the best of friends, but I just don't want to see you die, okay? Please try to come back home. Work with Boyt if you have to, he's extremely strong and he can work for hours without stopping." Glen stops talking. I can see he wants to say more, but he doesn't.

I nodded at him and said "Thanks". I really am thankful too. At least Glen believes I can come back, even if I don't believe it myself. Minutes later, the Peacekeepers escort Glen out, the next visitor comes in.

It's my family. At first, I just sit there completely shocked. _What the heck do they want?_

Then, they answered my question. "Don't make us looks bad", my mother said. I should have figured that they would say something like that. "Oh, and in the slightest chance that you win, you have to allow us to live in your house." It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

I just stare at them. I know that in the slightest chance that I do win, I will no way in hell allow them to live with me. I'd let my brothers and sisters live with me if they wanted, but mom and dad can live in the house they have now. What have they ever done for me? They don't deserve to live in the Victor's Village.

Almost like reading my thoughts, my Dad replies, "We know how to make death look like an accident. Just think about it, 'Victor dead, Family grieves'. It'd be all over town."

_So, either I die and they don't have to live with me anymore, or I win and they get rich. Just perfect!_ I doubt they're kidding. They never kid. I don't say anything to them and my parents leave without being told by the Peacekeepers. Their kids- my brothers and sisters- stick around.

The first one to speak is Dalton. Dalton is the closest to my age, being only a year older. I always sort of liked Dalton. He was never mean to me, but then again, he never stood up for me either. But who can blame him? My parents are scary people.

"If they kill you, I promise they won't be alive to live either." Dalton said. I've always kind have noticed that he didn't like our parents either. He was never home, and he always tried to avoid them.

"Umm, thanks, I guess." I said to him. But Dalton doesn't say anything back.

The other 3 kids are triplets. Two girls and one boy. They're only 5 years old, so I highly doubt that they get the whole concept of going into an arena and killing people. They must think it's some sort of made up game. The only one to speak is Lillian. Rut and Jillian stay quiet.

"Bye! Have fun!" Lillian said. I bet mom told her that I was going to go play some fun imaginary game where everybody just pretends to die.

The Peacekeepers tell them that their time is up, and they get escorted out of the building.

Three more people came to see me. All are either school, or work friends. They all said that they're rooting for me, but none of them believe I'll actually come home.

Every time a new visitor came in, all I thought about was _Where's Jakji? He wouldn't let me leave without saying goodbye… Would he?_ My 2 hours are almost done. I have just enough time for one more person.

I saw the last person stumbling in. A Peacekeeper was violently pushing him though.

The person was Jakji and he looked terrible. His eyes were red and puffy, his clothes were drenched in dirt, and there were long, bleeding, scars all over his body. He's been whipped… again.

**I don't know if you guys have noticed, but I'm really bad at sticking to one tense. Sorry if I started talking in the Present Tense, and then switched to the Past Tense, or vice-versa. **

**I did the RECAP thingy in the beginning because I always get confused when I read a new chapter of somebody else's story, and I never feel like rereading the last chapter to see what happened. So I just decided to tell you what happened.**


	5. What a Sucky Future

**RECAP: Estella and Flud were talking for a little bit. Then Estella was escorted to the Justice Building for "goodbyes" and "good lucks". Glen talked to Estella first. Glen wants Estella to try and win. Estella's family came next. They told her to not embarrass them, and that she must allow them to live with her if she wins (or they will "accidentally" kill her) Estella wonders where Jakji is and why he hasn't come yet. The last person to come is Jakji, and he looked like he just had a whipping.**

"Oh my god! Jakji, what happened?" I asked him. I ran over to him, because he was just about to collapse. Luckily, I got to him in time before he fell. But I'm small and not strong enough to keep him up. We ended up falling on the floor, I tried to hold his head up.

Fortunately, he could still talk. He told me everything that happened in the last hour.

"At first, when I heard your name, I thought I would die of forgetting how to breathe." He started saying. "Then, I listened to what Flud was saying to you. How it's an _honor_ to go into the games, and how _lucky _you are." He spit the words _honor _and _lucky _with such a hate that I've never seen. "I just lost it. I went completely psycho. After the reaping, I went and attacked Flud Sharting"

"Jakji! Why the hell would you do that?" I asked.

"He had NO RIGHT to call you lucky! If dying is lucky, then living must be a freaking miracle." I could see the rage that bubbled inside of Jakji. "After 10 seconds of punching Flud, the Peacekeepers took me and made me stand on the stage. They whipped me continuously for the past hour. I think I lost consciousness once or twice.

"Well, the whole time I was whipped, I begged to see you. At first they said I would never see you. But they must have gotten tired of my whining" He said.

All I could think is, _Whoa, Jakji was whining? He NEVER complains, he NEVER whines._

"I'm due back to whipping for another 30 minutes after this, but I don't care. All I want is to see you" He said.

I sighed. "Jakji, you are completely stupid, you know that?" I tried to make the predicament seem a little bit better.

Jakji smiled a little bit. But it looked like a painful smile because there was a whipping scare that went across his face.

Instead of Jakji hugging me, I decide that it's time for me to hug him. I don't think I have ever initiated a hug before. It was always him who hugged me, not the other way around. He tried to hug back, but I could see that it was hard and painful, so I didn't hug him that tight.

I pulled back from the hug, because I saw him wince in pain, and because it was kind of awkward to hug on the floor. I helped Jakji stand up. He was a little wobbly, be he seemed to stand pretty well.

I looked at the clock that told me how many minutes I had left. _13 minutes, well at least it's not 2._

Jakji started talking again. "You have to come home." Like my parents, this wasn't a question. This was a demand.

"I'll try" I said.

"No. No trying. You _will_ come home. Promise me you will come home." Jakji said.

"But you know I can't kill anything with a heartbeat Jakji! I just _can't_" I replied.

"PROMISE ME!" He practically screamed it. Tears started to roll down the side of his face. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to come back home, but I just physically _can't_ kill anybody.

"I… I can't-" I tried to say, but something stopped me.

Before I could tell what he was doing, his lips were on mine. Something made my heart skip a beat. At first, I was shocked; I've never kissed a boy before, so I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

His lips were salty from tears. I could also taste dirt and a little bit of blood. I didn't know what came over me, so I started to cry for the first time today. I don't want to leave. I don't want to die. I just want to stay here with Jakji. _This isn't fair._

Jakji must have felt my tears, because he pulled back from the kiss and asked what was wrong. When I didn't answer his question, he started to talk again.

"I knew you wouldn't love me like I love you. You must think of me as a brother. I'm sorry. Kissing you was a wrong idea." He said this as he turned around so I couldn't see his face.

At the moment, I had conflicting emotions. I _did_ think of Jakji as a brother. But now that I thought about it, Maybe I _do_ think of him as more than that, but I still couldn't tell.

"Yes, I do think of you as a brother to me." I started saying. "But I wasn't crying because of the kiss. I was crying because it's not fair." I waited for him to turn around to face me before I started talking again. "It's not fair that at least 22 people, actually 22 _kids_,are going to die. It's not fair that I might be part of that 22. And it's not fair that I might never see you again."

I saw him take in what I said. His expression changed a little bit. But I could see he didn't get what I was saying.

"Jakji, it's just that I have so many conflicting emotions right now. I can't think straight." I told him. I saw him finally understand what I was trying to say. I could tell he wasn't going to initiate another kiss, probably because he didn't want me to feel uncomfortable or even more conflicted. I was grateful that he didn't, because I know I would have completely lost myself.

We had about 3 minutes left until a Peacekeeper would take him away. Jakji fumbled around in his back pocket, trying to grab something. Seconds later he pulled something out from his pocket. It was a small box, with my name on it. He gave it to me.

"Don't open it until you get on the train. This was supposed to be your birthday present; well it still is your birthday present" he paused. "I just thought that I would be giving it to you at our tree and not here in the Justice Building as a goodbye present." He said.

I said "Thanks", and put it on a table.

We had about 1 and a half minutes left, so we just spent it sitting next to each other, not talking, just sitting. Eventually, Jakji turned to face me.

"Do you promise to come back home?" He asked.

I nodded and said, "Yes I promise". I know making a promise like that is ridiculous, but I wanted to reassure Jakji that everything would be okay. I knew that nothing would ever be okay, but I just couldn't live with myself if Jakji had done something irrational because of it. People need Jakji here in District 11. He has so many friends that would be devastated if he died. His family loves him and he has a great future. He can get any girl he wanted, and he could be happy.

I know I don't deserve Jakji. I'm just a tiny girl with no money, a family that wants me dead, and no future what-so-ever. I love working in the fields, but I'm just not good at picking crops. I'd never be able to support a family. Well, who knows, maybe being reaped has always been my future. Maybe dying in the Hunger Games has just always been meant for me. Wow... what a sucky future.

A minute later, three Peacekeepers came in and told Jakji he had to leave. He still had 30 minutes of being whipped left, so the Peacekeepers dragged him out forcefully, making sure he wouldn't get away from his punishment.

I ended up just sitting in the same position I was just minutes before. I waited for someone to direct me to the train, which would take me to the Capitol, which is where I will likely spend my last days alive.


	6. Allies?

**RECAP: Jakji was the last person to see Estella. Apparently, Jakji had attacked Flud. Peacekeepers whipped Jakji. Finally, Jakji was allowed to see Estella. Jakji made Estella promise to come home. Jakji and Estella kissed, Estella has conflicted emotions. Jakji leaves Estella with her birthday present, she hasn't opened it yet. Estella is now on the train to the Capitol.**

I don't remember moving from the Justice Building to the train. All I know is that one minute I was sitting in my room, talking to Jakji, and the next minute I was in the Train.

My room in the train is huge. At least quadruple the size of my last room and I used to share with Lillian and Jillian, my younger sisters. I don't see the point of such a big room, I remember being told that it only takes a day to reach the Capitol, so that means I'll only be using this room once. So I also don't see the point in unpacking either.

Flud Sharting knocks on my door. "Dinner will be in an hour! Then we will watch the Reapings to see your competition!" he says. He sounds so excited, like its fun to see who's going to die this year.

I don't answer him back, and eventually he just leaves. I hear that Flud will be our (Boyt and I) escort. He will get us to everything on time, and will plan out everything that needs to be done. I haven't met my mentor yet, and I have no idea who my mentor will be. This year, the Mentors are Gluet Garbe, the Victor from the 87th Hunger Games, and Yesn Pot, the Victor from the 72nd Hunger Games.

Gluet Garbe was the last victor to win in the Hunger Games who came from District 11. She won because of her great strength. Being only 14 years old, Gluet was already 6 feet tall, with amazing upper body strength. In training, she learned how to use a spear. Because of her strength, she could throw the spear far, and fast. She instantly killed anybody she hit. She was the only Victor that year. While the other tribute had welcomed the idea of them both winning, Gluet had disagreed. She wanted to kill the last tribute from District 7, because he had killed the male tribute from our District. It took less than 5 hours for Gluet to win.

Yesn Pot was the last male tribute from our District to win in the Hunger Games. Yesn didn't kill one person. He stayed to himself, waiting, hoping the other tributes would just kill each other. Yesn lived off the land; he hunted animals, he ate plants, and he just stayed alive. When it was down to Yesn and the male from District 4, the Gamemakers decided to use fire to bring them both close together. Nobody expected Yesn to win, because he had no bloodlust, but when the male from District 4 had seen the fire, he knew he should have run, but he didn't. He wanted to pick up all his supplies before leaving. He ended being burned up and dead.

From what I hear from my classmates, nobody wanted Yesn to be their Mentor if they ever had to go into the arena. They all said that he was just lucky. But I know Yesn wasn't "just lucky". Yesn was smart. He barely had to do anything, and he still made it out alive. I'm hoping that Yesn will be my Mentor, because Gluet will want me to kill, and I just don't want to do that.

I looked at the clock on my dresser. I still had 40 minutes until I would have to go down for dinner. I decided to open Jakji's gift.

The 3 inch box had no wrapping paper around it. I took the cover off of it and found a note taped to the bottom of the cover. It took me 4 minutes to get the note off without ripping it. I unfolded the note and read it:

_Esta,_

_Happy Birthday! I really hope you enjoy the gift I got you! I know you don't like jewelry, but I thought that this suited you well. I made the rope part myself, and I bought the charm. Don't worry; I don't mind how much it cost._

_-Jakji_

I could tell he wrote this before the reaping. He sounded so excited when he wrote this, the last time I saw Jakji, he was nowhere close to excited or happy.

I looked through the box to find a necklace. I was shocked and amazed at the same time. Jakji was right; this was something that suited me. When looking it over I saw how expensive it looked. It must have been worth at least 8 months of his pay from the fields. I sighed; he always gives me an expensive gift on my birthday.

The necklace was made out of some type of thin rope. It was colorful, with all my favorite colors in it- orange, yellow, and green. The different colors of rope were entwined in a weird pattern. The rope part in itself was beautiful. The charm was tiny and shiny and it depicted two shoes; two running shoes to be exact. The charm was beautiful, just like the rope part. Like he said in his note, this jewelry suited me.

I put the necklace on. It lay right below my collar bone.

I still had 25 minutes before dinner. I decided to wash my face and change out of my reaping dress. I threw the dress into a corner, and looked in my bag for anything suitable to wear. I ended up just throwing a green t-shirt on with some shorts.

When I went into the bathroom to wash my face, I saw a bunch of different products, products that said "hair gel" and "face mask" and "cuticle eraser". I counted at least 30 different bottles and containers. 15 of them were just for hair. _Who needs this much for their hair? _I thought.

It took me a good 5 minutes to just find soap. I washed the dirt and oil off my face and headed down to dinner. There was still 10 more minutes left, but I could see that I was the last person to arrive.

"Nice of you to join us" Gluet said. Even when sitting, she was gigantic. She must be at least 6'4".

"Flud told me that dinner wouldn't start till 6:30. It's only 6:20." I replied.

"Well I was expecting you to be here earlier!" Flud exclaimed. I decided not to say anything back. I took my seat next to Boyt, who had also changed out of his reaping outfit.

Dinner was quiet. I could feel the tension. Gluet was observing me; her eyes stared at me, probably trying to find some muscle of some sort. I know she wouldn't find any though; I have no muscle, except for maybe in my legs because I run so much.

The food, however, was delicious. I could chose whatever food I wanted from this buffet table sort of thing. I chose this thing called Vegetable Lasagna. It was pasta with sauce, cheese, and veggies. It was all layered and warm. I had at least three servings of it. I had fruit for dessert. I love fruit and could eat it all day.

I was still eating in silence when Boyt passed me a note underneath the table. He tossed it on my lap. It was folded up nice and neat, so I figured that he must have written it before we went to dinner. I glanced up at him, but he didn't look back at me. He obviously didn't want to raise suspicions.

I couldn't open the note without making noise or without people noticing. By the way that Boyt gave me the note; he obviously didn't want anybody to know about it. I decided to read it when I got back to my room. I slipped it into my back pocket.

Once everybody was done eating, we all sat down in front of a giant television so that we could watch the reapings.

Districts 1 and 2 are the same every year. Both Tributes from both Districts volunteer to go into the Games. Also, the Tributes that volunteer are almost always 16-18 years old, with a bunch of training behind them. The male Tribute from District 1 is about as tall as Gluet, and he looks about twice as strong. _Note to self: stay away from him. _I thought.

District 3 is an odd District. Somehow, it isn't one of the Career Districts. The male and female Tributes from 3 are small. They both seemed young. I felt really bad for them. It's not like they chose to die, unlike the people from Districts 1, 2, and 4.

District 4 is a lot like Districts 1 and 2. The male looks to have extreme upper body strength. _Must be from swimming, _I thought. District 4's industry is fishing; they would obviously know how to swim. District 5 has to be one of the poorest Districts in Panem. The skill that most District 5 people have is to be able to steal and be sneaky. They get this ability from just surviving.

Districts 6 through 10 are pretty much the same as every year. A couple people I observe include the female from District 7, who looks like she can handle an axe with ease, the male from District 8, who actually volunteered (for no apparent reason), and the twin duo in District 10. The girl had been reaped first, and the brother seemed to look upset. He must have volunteered in order to protect her and fight with her. The girl just looked pretty scared, but the boy looked determined, as if nothing could get in his way of winning and coming back home.

Our District was up next. Nothing special had happened. The announcers on the television commented on how special it must be to be reaped on my birthday. _What is wrong with Capitol people? Can't they see that I am going to DIE?_ I thought.

The last District to be shown is 12. Before they do the reaping, the camera focuses in on the Star-Crossed lovers of 74. Their kids have been in the reaping ball for a couple years now. I'm surprised that the Capitol hasn't chosen them yet; the Reapings are almost always rigged for Victor's children. The boy and girl chosen from District 12 both look like they're starving. The girl is tall, but her cheeks are sunken, and the boy looks the same way. They must be from the poorest part of District 12 and they must both have their names in the ball multiples of times.

After the Reapings are done, Boyt and I go to our separate rooms. At first, all I want to do is sleep, but then I remember the note in my pocket. I took it out and unfolded it. It said a single, solitary word:

_Allies?_

_

* * *

_

**Hiya people who are reading this! I would just like to say a huge, gigantic, thanks to CatchingFire54321 for practically reviewing on every chapter! I really appreciate your reviews and well, they really made my day! :D**


	7. Train Ride

**RECAP: Estella got onto the train. She opened Jakji's present (which was a necklace) and she and everyone else on the train watched the reapings together. Boyt wants to know if Estella wants to be allies.**

_Well that's unexpected _I thought. _Why would a tall, strong looking guy like him want me as an ally? _

I decided not to think too much about it. I was tired and really wanted to just sleep. It was a long, eventful, stupid birthday.

I placed the note on the desk near my bed, and dressed into some clean clothes. It was nice having new and not used clothes. What really sucked is that if I wasn't about to die, I might have actually enjoyed the food, my own room, and the time away from my family. I wonder if my family will be rooting for me. I know they want that Victor's house, but maybe they would just be happy if I was gone. My getting reaped must have been the best thing that has happened to them since my home placement.

I turned out the light and slowly drifted into blissful sleep.

I awoke the next morning with no recollection of a dream. It was weird. I would have thought that I would have a ton of nightmares on what might come. Oh well.

I looked over at the clock on my bedside table. 9:30. Whoa, I never get to sleep this late. I decide that I should probably get dressed and try to eat something. I've seen people starve to death on these games. Gaining a few pounds before the games start might be a good idea.

I pull out a simple green t-shirt and some shorts. I wonder what the temperature will be in the arena. I'm always so used to such hot weather because our District is one of the more southern Districts. I'm kind of scared it will be snowing though. It snowed once in our District. A lot of our crops died that year because of the cold, and the Capitol people got really pissed at us. Because _of course_, we control the weather, and we _obviously_ did this on purpose just to make the Capitol mad. Needless to say, lots of people in our District starved that year.

Well, anyway, I hated the cold weather. I couldn't stand it. It felt like I was freezing to death, even with my three coats and my two pairs of sweatpants on. I just hope that the arena is really hot.

I head into the dining area of the train. It's empty. Everybody must have already ate and left. I don't know about Boyt, but I've felt really isolated ever since I got reaped. None of my "supposed" mentors have talked to me about strategies or anything like that. I guess I can't blame them. They must be helping Boyt, thinking that he will be the one to win. They probably don't expect me to get past the bloodbath. Whatever.

I end up eating a ton of different foods. I end up mostly eating this food that looks like bread, but tastes sweeter, and is flat. Some weird, sweet, sticky substance is right next to it, so I decide to use it as a topping. It's delicious. The flat bread is soft and fluffy and tastes ten times better than the bread from my District. The sticky substance (which is an ugly brown color) is like heaven. It tastes like melted sugar, but it has this distinct taste that differs it from sugar. It's odd, and I can't explain it.

"They're called pancakes" Someone says behind me. I'm startled; I thought I was the only one here. "That brown stuff is called maple syrup", he continues.

Yesn takes a seat right next to me. He doesn't take or eat any food; he must have already eaten something. I'm not quite certain what to say to him, so I just nod in agreement and continue eating.

"We've decided, and I will be your mentor for the Games. Gluet will be Boyt's mentor." Well, I figured that. Boyt and Gluet are both strong; they will use that to their advantage. I still decide to remain silent, and I continue to nod.

A long moment of silence occurs between the two of us. It gets awkward, so I decide to say something, "None of you think I will make it out alive." It's not a question. It's a fact. I know none of them think I will make it, but I just need someone to confirm it for me.

He shakes his head in agreement. "But you and me, we're alike. Nobody thought I would come out alive either, but look at me now. I have confidence in you." Yeah, I get the similarities, but I bet I'm not the only one who he's mentored that he's said this too, like that small 15 year old boy three years ago. I bet Yesn said that he had confidence in him too. Look where it got him; dead.

"Thanks", I say. It's the only thing I can think of saying without sounding too harsh. I continue eating, going back for seconds and thirds.

He doesn't say anything else the rest of the time. He leaves after 5 minutes or so, he must be bored of watching me eat. I finish eating and my stomach wants to explode. I've never had an actual full stomach, so the feeling is new to me. I actually feel really uncomfortable and wish I hadn't eaten that last pancake. But I bet the feeling will subside by lunch time.

I want to explore the train. But then the train stops. Completely stops. I wonder if we're at the Capitol. I can't believe I missed watching the Capitol as we went through it, I'm so stupid.

Gluet finds me in the dining room. "We're at the Capitol. Pack up your stuff, we're gonna get off this train and go into District 11's room in the Training Center." She doesn't seem very excited. But she doesn't seem like she's ever been happy since her Hunger Games. _If_ I do make it out of these Hunger Games alive, I really hope I don't end up like her.

She told me I had two hours to get all my stuff together, which won't be hard. I have nothing except the necklace Jakji gave me and a few clothes. Boyt gets done at the same time I do, because he came over to my room with a bag over his shoulder.

"Hey", he says.

"Hi", I say back. I bet he wants to talk about the note he gave me last night.

"Did you read my note?" he says. I was right.

"Yup", I say. I honestly don't know what to say about it. Sure, I'd love an ally, but why did he choose me? I mean, there are a ton of different people from other Districts who are strong, and skillful, and I'm just weak and small. Also, why didn't he just ask me? Why did he want to keep it a secret from Flud and Gluet and Yesn?

"Nobody thinks you're going to make it out alive. They all think you're weak; physically and mentally." Thanks for clearing that one up Boyt! "I don't know you, I've never met you, but I just feel this strong feeling about you. It's hard to explain, but I usually have really strong intuitions about certain people, and they always turn out to be right."

"Oh" is all I can say. Intuition? Weird.

"Nobody wants me to be allies with you because they think that you will slow me down. Sorry if this comes off as mean, but at first, I thought you would never make it past the bloodbath." He says.

"That's okay. I didn't think I'd make it past the bloodbath either" I tell him.

"Well, can we just keep this a secret until the Games? Gluet wants me to ally with stronger Tributes. And I don't think she would want me to ally with you. Once again, no offense." He looks at his feet for a few seconds before he continues, "I think you're going to win, if you ally with me or not, you're getting out of these Games alive."

I say nothing. What am I supposed to say? Boyt sees that I don't want to say anything, and decides to talk some more. Gosh, I would have never taken him as the "talking type".

"So we're allies, right?" He asks.

"Um, yeah, sure", is all I say back.

He leaves my room, and goes to ask Flud when we can leave the train. I overhear their conversation and hear we still have to stay on the train for 35 more minutes.

Surprisingly, those 35 minutes go by pretty fast and we head toward the Training Center. A bunch of Capitol people stare at us. But I stare at them back. They're all completely ugly; blue skin, rainbow colored hair, creepy face tattoos. We walk past them and into the Training Center. Flud smiles excitedly at the receptionist lady. Then he pushes us into an elevator with numbered buttons on the door.

Flud presses the number 11 button, and we start to move up.


	8. Plans

**RECAP: They arrived at the Training Center (heh, FINALLY!). Estella likes pancakes, and Boyt has a weird intuition. He believes that Esta will make it out of the Games alive. Oh, and apparently, the Capitol people are "completely ugly".**

**Author's Note: For reasons unknown (i.e. the lazy author doesn't feel like writing it), the Opening Ceremonies is very short. I am very, truly, dearly sorry to those who enjoy the Chariot ride thingy.**

I woke up this morning at 5:00. I would guess that since I'm used to waking up this early at home, I would be perfectly fine with waking up this late today. But this morning was different.

I was scrubbed and waxed and practically tortured. First off, they made me take off my clothes. Every single piece of clothing! I was completely naked. Then, these Capitol people walked around in circles around me, criticizing my every flaw.

"Ugh! Look at these legs! It's like a jungle of hair!" said one lady with pink eyes and sharp teeth.

"And those cuticles! Look at how they're damaged!" exclaimed a man with blue streaks of hair and pants that were, in my opinion, way too tight.

There were three people on my prep team. All had that stupid Capitol accent, and each was morphed into something different. They really didn't seem human. The Capitol people are a whole new species.

The last person on my "prep team" was the weirdest looking of them all. She had different colored skin for every limb. Her left arm was orange, her right was blue, and her left leg was red, her right was green. She also had this pointy nose that looked like it could cause some damage, if used as a weapon. She didn't say anything about me, but she studied me intensely. It made me uncomfortable, especially since I was still naked.

They all "beautified" me, and got me into this dress that kind of resembled an orange. Well that figures, District 11 is almost always a fruit of some sort. Nobody likes vegetables, or wheat, so we always seem to duplicate some sort of fruit. This year seemed to be an orange. Yay.

I never really learned their names, nor did I really care to learn them. Boyt came into my room, dressed into the silly outfit his prep team made. Wait, Aren't I supposed to have a head designer? All I have is three prep team people. Whatever. Well, anyway, Boyt was dressed like an apple which was weird because usually the boy and the girl from our District is the same fruit. I guess they were trying to mix it up a little this year.

The Opening Ceremonies was boring, and uneventful. The most exciting thing that happened was that the girl from District 3 accidentally fell out of her Chariot. I feel bad that she fell. She must be having the worst time of her life. And falling out of your Chariot doesn't get you sponsors.

By the time the Opening Ceremonies was over, it was 3:30. We Tributes got to go back to our rooms in the Training Center while the mentors went to a meeting room. I overheard some other District's mentor say that they're going to go check how many sponsors each has at the moment. I highly doubt that our District will have a lot at this point, but who knows, maybe the Capitol people really like fruit.

Since we have a full buffet table in the kitchen part of District 11's room, we can eat whatever we want, whenever we want. We didn't eat dinner last night together, nor did we have breakfast together this morning. I would have thought that we would have eaten dinner separately tonight too. But we didn't.

I was just about to sit down and eat some lasagna when Flud started to rush into the room. He's very awkward when he runs, he moves his hips this way and that, and flails his arms around like he doesn't know what to do with them. He would move better if he kept his arms at 90 degree angles and moved them straight through.

"Wait!" he tells me. He stops momentarily to catch his breath. "We-we're eating together tonight!" he says, stumbling on the first word because he needed to catch his breath. Someday, I'd love to see all the escorts and Prep team people go into the Hunger Games. That would be the only Hunger Games I would enjoy.

"Whatever" I say back to him, setting my plate on the table next to the seat that I usually sit in.

"We'll eat in an hour! Don't be late! We're going to discuss some-". That was all I heard until I got back to my room. I could care less what Flud says. All he ever does is talk in that stupid, excited Capitol voice. That voice irks me.

I guess my exit on Flud might have seemed a little rude to him. Because throughout dinner, he was quiet, and almost sad looking. Capitol people are so dramatic. I don't even get why we ate dinner together. Nobody said anything, except to ask an Avox to get them some more potatoes or something. Boyt kept glancing at me, and he was smiling every time I glanced back. I probably should have smiled back, but I'm not one to open up to somebody. Especially somebody who I might never see again, or might possibly be a back stabber, literally.

After dinner was done, Yesn told me to follow him into this separate room, while Gluet told Boyt to follow her into another separate room.

Yesn sat me down in this plain fold-out chair, while he sat in this cushioned chair. A table separated us, with a piece of paper and a pen on the table. On the paper read my name- Estella Waters, my age- 16, and different information like my height and weight. On the bottom was a column that said "strengths" and another column that said "weaknesses". Do all the mentors write this kind of stuff down? Can't someone just steal it?

"As you probably guessed, I'm gonna question you on your strengths, weaknesses, and we're gonna talk about your plan in the Games", He started. "Usually mentors don't write this stuff down, but I like to keep track of my tributes" , he shows me a filing cabinet that looks really out of place in this technologically advanced building, "and sometimes this information comes in handy when I train future Tributes."

I nod, as if saying, "Yes, I understand".

"Well, I have noticed that you don't talk a lot. But please answer these questions honestly; they will be helpful in deciding a plan when you go into the arena." He pops the top off of the pen and begins to ask me questions. "We'll start with the weaknesses. What are your, umm, weaknesses or disadvantages?"

I point to my left arm and say, "I'm not strong." He doesn't look surprised, and I didn't expect him to. He starts to write it down, and I continue to list my *ahem* many "disadvantages".

"I can't stand cold, I have no idea how to use any weapon, I'm not that good at making friends, my eyesight is kind of poor, occasionally, I can't hear from my left ear, I get nauseous when I see or smell blood, and certain bugs creep me out." I say this in one breath, then I take a deep breath in. Yesn starts to write this all down.

"Okay, so here's part of your plan; DON'T go near the Cornucopia" he tells me. I find this as a relief. I never wanted to die in the first minute anyway. "Now, what are you good at? What do you think will help you while in the arena?" Yesn asks me.

"I can run." Honestly, that's all I can think of. Now I _really_ don't think I will be making it out alive. I rack my thoughts to see if there is anything else useful that I can do. "And I know almost every plant that is edible or poisonous" I say.

Looking over my sheet that Yesn wrote on, I see how full the "weaknesses" column looks, and how un-full the "strengths" column is. I guess it could be worse. I could be blind and have no legs. That would really be a disadvantage.

"Well, here's your plan: Run away, find water, eat plants, and hide." Well I could have come up with that! "Try learning how to use a weapon in training tomorrow, and it would be best if you had an ally" He says. Well, I got an ally already, I guess I could try to use a weapon, but I really, really hope I won't have to use it.

When this whole "meeting" thing was over, I went to my room to go to sleep. Boyt had gotten done with his meeting with Gluet at the same time I did. On the way to my room, Boyt said goodnight to me, and I said goodnight back. He's been different lately. He isn't that quiet, sullen Boyt that stood at the Podium when his name was called. He's seems happier, and kind of content. I don't know what's up with him, but personally, the thought about dying doesn't make me smile. He must be up to something. _Note to self: Watch out for Boyt._

I get ready for bed, and hop into the covers. Three days of training and an interview is left. Then, the Hunger Games begin. What joy.

**Hello people who are reading this right now! Sorry if my updates are really slow... I'm unfortunately not one of those people who update every couple of days. School, track, babysitting, and drag racing pretty much consume my life, and I also really enjoy sleeping. But I really appreciate those of you who still read my story! Thanks a bunch :3 **

***EDIT* Reading this over... I noticed that this is a terrible chapter! I'm wicked sorry... I'll try harder on my next chapter. The next chapter should be up by this weekend, sorry for the long, long, long, long, long x 27, wait.**


	9. Training

**RECAP: Estella and Boyt had their Opening Ceremonies. They dressed up as fruit. After dinner that night, Yesn asked Estella what her strengths and weaknesses were. Yesn advised Estella to just stay away from the Cornucopia and run and hide. Boyt has been acting suspiciously. **

*DAY ONE*

We arrive at the training center at around 8:40. We're 20 minutes early, but it seems that most of the Tributes are already here. A girl that goes by the name of Jem starts talking to us about all the different stations that we can go to.

"And over there is the archery station. Oh, and you are not allowed to combat with each other. There are people near stations if you want to practice your sword or hand to hand combat skills." She says. I guess this would be a good idea. The Capitol wouldn't want Tributes to "accidentally" slice off another Tribute's hand before he/she even got into the arena.

I remember what Yesn told me yesterday when we talked about my weaknesses and my strengths. He told me to try and find a weapon that I am okay at. I look around the Center and see all the other Tributes occupying the weapon stations. _Well, waiting at a weapon station would be counter-productive_, I think. I look over at the plants station and see the person working it. He seems awfully bored; many people don't seem to go over to that station. I decide to head over to the plant station.

"Why hello there!" the person at the station beams. I smile at him while looking through all the plants. Many of them are labeled edible, and some are labeled poisonous. But I don't even need the little post-it notes that tell what the plant is or how it can be used. These are plants that I'm very familiar with.

The guy starts to tell me about the different edible plants when I interrupt him, "Can I just try that plant test over there?" I point at the table with a stack of papers that say 'TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE'. He looks disappointed that he couldn't finish his speech about how important edible plants can be in the arena, but allows me to take the test.

It's a simple test. 10 plants are set on the table, and I'm supposed to identify the plant, Identify the most common usage for it, and whether or not it's safe to eat. I'm surprised on how easy it is, and end up getting every question right except for the name of plant 7 (but who really needs to know the name?)

The next station I go to is the knots, which I end up doing fairly decently. At this station, I wasn't as lonely. The boy and girl from District 3 are there trying to learn traps. They work together as they perfect their traps. When they test out their trap, it works flawlessly. A tribute could easily get himself or herself caught in this trap, and then later be killed by the girl or boy from District 3. The boy holds out his hand for a high five and the girl high fives it. _It looks like they'll be working together in the arena._ I think.

By the time I'm done with the knot station, a bell is sounded to tell us that it is time to break for lunch. The careers end up sitting next to each other, laughing and joking about something. Everybody else seems to either sit by their district partner, or by someone they befriended while training. Boyt seems to sit near the twins from District 10. He hasn't said anything to me at all today, nor has he even acknowledged my presence. I can't help but wonder that something is up. And I can't help but think he has some devious plan that will end up with me dead. I push that thought away; Boyt wouldn't do that, would he?

Well, anyway, I end up sitting near the girl from District 7, the one who looks like she knows how to use an axe.

"You're Estella, right?" She says.

"Yep, that would be me." I say back.

"The name's Sheli. Pronounced Shell-y." She holds out her hand. And in turn, I shake it. "I saw your reaping, well EVERYBODY saw your reaping. You said you're sixteen?" she asks.

"Yeah, but I don't look sixteen. People get me confused as a 12 year old often." I answer. Sheli seems like a nice person, despite her obvious upper body strength. She's not buff, but her arms are very toned, but it's almost threatening.

"I could tell; your escort thought it was your first reaping." She says as she bites into some sort of dark brown bread.

I don't how to respond to this, so I just take a bite of my bread with peanut butter. I guess Sheli noticed my quietness, so she started talking again.

"I saw you at the plant station early this morning. You good with plants?" She asks.

"I guess I'm good with plants, Why?" I answer.

"Because I have no clue in the world of plants. I could tell you everything you never wanted to know about different trees, and what the best way to chop each one is, but I'd never be able to tell which plants are edible and which are poisonous." She says. I guess that she'll go one of two ways. 1) She'll ask me to help educate her on plants or 2) She'll ask to be allies. Or maybe both. I wouldn't mind being allies with her, she seems pretty cool, but I still can't stop wondering what Boyt is gonna do.

"So I was thinking, I mean, I saw you ace that plant test like it was nothing! And I'm pretty decent with an axe, so here's what I'm thinking: I can hunt down people and animals maybe, and you can deal with plants and other stuff your good at. We could be like a super team!" She says this in a hushed tone, probably not wanting to let other tributes know what she had devised. I have to say, it _is_ a pretty good plan. I bet Sheli would have been the only Tribute to ask me to be Allies with them (disregarding Boyt). Most people like me usually end up alone in the arena, and usually dead.

"So you're asking to be Allies?" I ask.

She nods her head.

I can't help but jump at the opportunity. I mean, sure, I _did_ tell Boyt I'd be Allies with him, but he's been acting real weird lately. Maybe I wouldn't wind up dead if I be Allies with Sheli.

"Allies" I say, holding out my hand as a sign of agreement. She shakes it.

* * *

*DAY TWO*

The rest of the day at training yesterday after I became Allies with Sheli was mostly preoccupied with trying to use a knife. I failed miserably at one of the easiest weapons. All I had to do was stab the stupid practice dummy, but I ended up holding the knife wrong and slicing my finger. Blood splattered everywhere, but it didn't hurt. It was embarrassing. But I'm really surprised Sheli didn't take back her offer to become Allies.

Fortunately, today went a lot more smoothly. Yesn wanted me to learn how to use a weapon, any weapon, just in case I got in a bad predicament where I was cornered by tributes or something. I still cringe at the thought of actually killing somebody, and don't think I'd be able to actually kill someone, but I will refuse to go down without a fight.

I tried bows and arrows with no success, but at least I didn't accidentally shoot myself in the foot. Sheli tried to teach me how to work an axe, but it was a little too heavy for me to get a good, solid swing. I was pretty descent at using a sword, but it had to be a light one. The one thing that I did well in was spear throwing. First off, the spear is a lot lighter than you'd think, so yes, even my small weak body could comfortably hold and throw it. Secondly, I was pretty dam accurate with my throws, if I do say so myself. I speared the practice dummy every time at a 20 foot distance (but anything farther was too hard to hit).

Lots of Allies were made today. The partners from District 3 (I found out their names to be Lent and Renna) teamed upped with the girl from District 8 (named Harper) and the boy from District 5(never figured out his name). The usual Career Districts teamed together, with the exception of the girl from District 4 (Holla) who allied with the male from District 8 (didn't catch his name). The twins from 10 paired with the District 12's boy and girl, and everybody else either didn't want to have an Ally, or just never got asked.

"So you allied with the girl from 7?" Yesn asked me after I got back from training.

"Yeah, we actually became allies yesterday." I say.

"Good. Allies are good, and she looks strong. You made the right choice." Yesn says. He returns back to his own room, so I decide to go to back to my room too. Weapons tired me out today, and all I want is to just go to sleep.

* * *

*DAY THREE*

"You want to swirl colors together, make it look realistic", the girl running the camouflage station tells me. I watch her swirl brown and green together to make a color that could blend in with a forest arena. It looks like a lot of fun, and I honestly can't wait to roll around in the mud and leaves.

I'm just about to go try to camouflage a bright pink water bottle, when a voice from behind spooks me.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" says a boy. I immediately recognize the voice, it's Boyt.

"Why of course!" the lady at the station exclaims. She seems very excited that she will have not only one, but two people at her station.

Boyt comes around next to me and picks up another water bottle and starts to cover it in mud. _What's he doing here? He's been avoiding me for the other training days, why is he suddenly here all of a sudden?_ I wonder. To not act awkward or weird, I start to camouflage my water bottle too.

"_Hi"_, Boyt just wrote in the mud with his finger. Once he saw that I noticed his message, he smiled at me.

To be funny, I decided to write "_hiya"_ in the mud with my finger. Boyt chuckled a bit, but then started to write in the mud again.

"_So how's life?"_ he wrote. What a stupid question. Here I am, in a Training Center, training for a fight to the death, and he asks how my life is?

"_Just Dandy"_ I write, but I give him a sarcastic glare.

"Me too" Boyt says aloud. "So how's training been?" he asks me.

"Well, beside that time I sliced my finger on a knife, it's been so-so." I say. Boyt starts to laugh about the time when I sliced my finger. Every Tribute saw me as the Capitol doctors took out this gel that helped heal the cut. I felt like such a baby.

Just then, a bell sounded, telling us that it was the end of our training for the day. Bust since its already day 3 of Training, the sound of the bell tells us that it's time for the Gamemakers to score us on our skills.

All of us Tributes have to sit in chairs, as we all, one by one, show our skills to the Gamemakers. Each of us gets 15 minutes, so it makes for an awfully long wait, especially for us with Districts like 10, 11 and 12.

Time ticked on and on, and one by one, the Tributes slowly decreased in number. Eventually, it was Boyt's turn to show the Gamemakers his skill. After he stood up, he turned back to face me to say "Good luck with the Gamemakers."

I said a quick "Good luck" to Boyt and watched him go into the room where Tributes show off their skills.

15 minutes or so passed when I heard my name called by a lady who was probably bored with watching so many Tributes, and just wanted them over. I stood up and headed towards the door, feeling a little confident about what I was going to show them.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

_I never figured out what I was going to show them._

* * *

**Well, that was long. I didn't want to separate the Training days into different chapters, so I decided to put them into one big, LONG chapter. **

**So, I'm really sorry for the long wait, I'm really bad at updating, but I promise I won't abandon the story :) Oh and I know I said that I was gonna get this chapter up by last weekend, but I have an excuse! I had nothing to do all day Sunday, so I had my mind set that I was going to finish this chapter. Well, right when I started typing on the chapter, my cousins called asking if I wanted to go paintballing. And, well, I said yes. So I ended up paintballing all day (I got a bruise in my thigh and my pants were rainbow splattered by the end of the day). So there's my excuse!**

**Oh, and I really like TacoBelle's idea about a Peeta and Katniss POV about Estella and Boyt. I'm going to incorporate that into the story (probably during the games), and I'm thinking of a possible Boyt POV once the games start. (Oh and sorry for such a long wait for the Games to start. But, in my defense, I don't think Suzanne Collins started the actual Games until about chapter 9, but I don't remember exactly).**


End file.
